1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to blankets, cloaks, covers, shawls and the like, and in particular to a privacy blanket for use in connection with a variety of activities that, when conducted in a public place, may require some level of privacy, e.g., nursing, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
People must often engage in activities in a public or semi-public place, even though such activities are preferably performed in private. Therefore, in order to maintain their privacy in such locations, some article or “shield” may be used to prevent passersby from viewing the person engaged in such activities. For example, many mothers nurse their children, and oftentimes, this nursing must occur at specified and/or inopportune times, e.g., while the mother and child is in a public or semi-public place. Also, the mother may need to express milk in order to “make” a bottle while she is situated in a public place. Similarly, even if providing the child milk from a bottle by the father, mother, relative, etc., many people prefer that the nursing (or feeding) process be a private affair. This also may be a preferably state for the feeding child, i.e., to be kept separate from the sounds, sights and smells of a public place, thereby reducing distractions during the feeding process.
According to the prior art, covers, shawls, capes, etc. have been provided for assisting in maintaining privacy in a public forum. However, many of these known arrangements include only a neck hole that must be appropriately positioned and is often uncomfortable to the user. Further, many of these known arrangements must be “thrown” over the shoulder, and often slip or fall due to the mother's or child's movement, thereby defeating the purpose of such privacy covers. In addition, these prior art arrangements make it difficult to rearrange the feeding child, e.g., switching sides, while still maintaining the private nature of the nursing or feeding process. Still further, these known arrangements are devoid of additional, functional features, and need to be carried around in a baby bag (or worn as a jacket). Therefore, there are considerable deficiencies with these prior art privacy covers, shawls, capes, etc., and there remains a need in the art for improved privacy blankets that include additional and beneficial functions.